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The Commoner
WILLIATl J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
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Vol. 3. No. 2i.
Lincoln, Nebraska, June 12, 1903.
Whole No, 125,
THE POSTOFFICE SCANDAL
The evidence shows unexpected rascality and
corruption in the postofllce department The evi
dence collected against Miller and Machen is
conclusive proof that the interests of the publ'o
have been shamefully noglected by these officials.
The offenses committed by them represent the
two popular -branches of malfeasance first, the
acceptance of money for official service, and, sec
ond, interest in contracts with the government
Mr. Miller is charged with receiving money for oni
cial opinions, said opinions being given in be
half of swindling corporations that wanted to uso
the mails. It will bo seen that such conduct is
not only a crime against the government, but a
crime against thousands of citizens who are taken
in by the advertisements sent through the mails,
The fact that the swindling concerns were al
lowed to use the mails for a consideration sug
gests the" possibility of crookedness in connection
with - the guessing contests which some of the
newspapers have been conducting. These are
simply lotteries in a more vicious form. In a
lottery there are a certain number-of tickets and
the prizes bear a fixed and large proportion of the
entire money invested by patrons, but in the case
of a guessing contest the contestant has no way
of knowing, what his chances " are or what pro
portion the amount invested bears to the prizes.
In a wheel of fortune it is always known that the
owner of the wheel has a certain percentage in his
favor. For instance, if there are one hundred
paddles and the successful paddle carries a hundred-dollar
prize, there will be more than a hun
dred paddles sold, say 110, and the ?10 goes to the
man who owns the wheel. -jut in the case of the
guessing contest the amount given in prizes may
be $40,000 and the amount invested by patrons
may be $400,Cj0, so that the "wheel" gets 90 pe:
cent instead of 10 per cent
On another page will be found a copy of the
anti-lottery message submitted to congress by
President Harrison, July 29, 1890. All that the
president says of the Louisiana State Lottery can
be said of the nowspaper guessing contests, and
they are spreading over the country so rapidly
t'.at it is on:y a question of time when public
sentiment will be aroused against them. Let tne
reader of The Commoner show this editorial and
President Harrison's message to his pastor and to
all the preachers and priests whom he knows,
with the request that the matter be given atten
tion. Mr. Machen's offense is in another line, name
ly, the receiving of a commission u,pon sales made
to the government. It is not often that an official
Mil risk receiving money directly on such trans
actions, but it is more often the case that the offi
cial will become pecuniarly interested in a com
pany that sells to, the government It is so near
ly impossible for a man to deal honestly with the
government where ho himself Is pecuniarily in
terested that the rule against such transactions
ought to be universally and rigidly enforced. Tho
same principle that would be violated by a judge
trying his own case, or by a juror acting in a suit
in which he is pecuniarily interested, is violate!
when an official transacts business with a com
pany of which he is a member.
If there is no law ma .ng it a penal offense
for an official to buy for the government from a
firm in which he is Interested, there ought to be
such a law. It is to be hoped that the investiga
tion now commenced will be continued until ev
ery guilty party ha3 been exposed and punished.
It is a short-sighted partisanship that would
lead the party in power to hush -up such things
out of fear of politicr.I Injury. When an admin
istration punishes tho offenders it puts the re
sponsibility where It belongs; when an admin
istration shields the offenders it shares tho odium
of the individual's crime. If President Roosevelt
has the courage that he ought to have, ho will
allow no friendship or partisanship to stand in
tho way of a thorough investigation and ex
emplary punishment
JJJ
A Little Previous.
In. a recent issue of Tho Commoner Mr. Bryan
discussed tho question of leadership and said
that he was not seeking Readership, and then
proceeded to say that no man is in a position
to do his duty who is controlled by tho ambi
tion to bo a leader or who Is always looking
out for his own political future, that leader
ship is not secured in that way, neither can one
insure his political position in future years by
centering his thoughts upon his own interests,
that ho leads who proposes tho wisest measures
and defenas them with the strongest arguments,
and that no one can see the truth who constantly
gazes at himself. Tho republican and gold demo
crat papers jumped to tho conclusion that Mr.
Bryan was renouncing interest in public ques
tions and removing himself from tho arena of
politics. Nothing in the editorial would justify
such a construction. Mr. Bryan is interested in
political questions and will continue to discuss
them with tongue and pen. In fact, tho study
and discussion of public questions is tho busi
ness or his life, and no paper is justified in as
suming that either now, or ten years from now,
or twenty years from now, he will be less earnest
or active in dealing with those questions than
he has been during tho last ten years.
Whether tho arguments presented by him will
have any influenco will depend, not upon tho
wishesoftherorpoction-coc'rolled papers, b t
upon tho judgment' of rfthe people -who, Ulcer him
self, are seeking a just solution of all tho
problems with which society has to deal.
The Fourth of July Celebration
The Fairvlew Jefferson club will hold an old
faBhioned Fourth of July celebration at Fairview
this year. The readers of The Commoner will re
member that Fairview is the name given to Mr.
Bryan's home and is situated about four miles
southeast of Lincoln. The exercises will be held
In a grove close to the street car line and about a,
quarter of a mile from Mr. Aryan's residence.
Mayor Tom L. Johnson of Cleveland, O.,
Col. Richard S. Wynno of Ft Worth, Tex., and
Dr. Howard S. Taylor of Cnicago will deliver ad
dresses. Professor Hagenow's band will furnish
music for tho occasion and a choir selected from
The Commoner oflico force will lead in the sing
ing of patriotic airs.
The celebration of the anniversary of the na
tion's birth has in too many places degenerated
into a day of spcrt for the people and into a day
of money-making for merchants.
The Fairview Jefferson club desires to re
turn to the simplicity and sincerity of the earlier
day celebrations when the people were wont to
gather together on such a day to renew acquaint
ances, exchange opinions, sing together inspir
ing songs, hear the Declaration of Independence
read, and listen to the discussions of ques
tions affecting me national welfare, a no club is
fortunate in being able to secure the attendance of
the distinguished citizens whose names are men
tiqned above. Of Tom L. JDhnson it is not nec
essary to speak. His able and courageous defensa
of the interests of the masses has earned for him
his position of leadersjilr of tne Ohio democracy,
and ho is using that leadership to bring about
public reforms. CoL Wynno is one of the most
prominent lawyers of Texas, an orator of nota
and a citizen of high Ideals. Dr. Taylor is city
attorney of Chicago under Mayor Harrison, and
is not only an able speaker, but is so accomplished-
a writer of verso that he has been
dubbed poet laureate of tno Chicago platrorm
democracy. All are cordially invited.
CORRUPTION IN POLITICS
While travoling through an eastern state the
editor of Tho Commoner had occasion to discus
tho political situation with several persons and
heard so much of political corruption that ho
took tho pains to inquiro for specific instances
At tho conclusion of this editorial will be found
a summary of tho information which ho received.
It is worthy of tho careful consideration of tho
readers of Tho Commoner. There seems to bo a
numbness of conscionco on this question that
bodes evil to tho country. Suroly tho people can
not always bo Indifferent, as they soem to bo now,
to what is going on.
While corruption is not confined to tho re
publican party, it has been most pronounced in
that party because that party has been in power
so long that tho machinery of tho party now
completely dominates tho voters. To correct this
corruption it is not necessary to permanently
overthrow the party, but it Is necessary that there
should bo an organized protest among tho mem
bers that will inaugurate an era of purer politics.
In somo Instances it was found that men
high in business and high in the church lent
themselves to various schemes for tho corruption
of legislators. There aro texts for ministers. In
the summary as well as for political reformers.
Tho facts as learned can bo briefly stated as
follows!' '"' -''' S &&&&;& -&
1. In a certain state in a senatorial district com
posed of three counties, there were to bo chosen
two state senators, one for the short term of two
years, the other for tho long term of four years.
The, short term nomination was conceded to a
man In one of these counties without opposition.
A certain man in one of the remaining two coun
ties was indorsed by his county for tho long term
and ho had no opposition in the district until no
gave out an interview in which he stated, among
other things, he was going to the state senate
to fight railroad corporations. Tho political agents
of the railroad corporation which Is strong in
those three counties, at once set out to find a
candidate to defeat this man for the nomination.
They picked on a man in the remaining county
of the three and he was Indorsed by his county.
Each of two counties having a candidate for tha
long term, the balance of power rested with tho
county in which lived the candidate for the short
term. This county was about to hold a primary
election for the nomination of a county ticket
and it was agreed by all parties concerned that
the names of these two candidates for the lonj
term of state senator should bo put on the ticket
at this republican county primary and the one ro
ceiving tho larger number of votes, should havo
the delegates from that county. Tho candldato
selected by tho railroad Interests went to that
county, called together thirty active republicans
from all parts cf the county and gave them $50
each for their time and expenses to work for
him until after the republican primary, which
was in fivo days. He told them that if he were
successful, he would give them each $25 after
tho election. Between that time and the day of
the primary election, a circus came to town and
he gave away 800 tickets to this circus. When
the votes were counted, he had a small majority,
2. At a city election in the capital city of a cer
tain state, about 450 negroes were imported from
the coal mines in various parts of tnat county and
an adjacent county, all of Wuom were voted, and
some three or four times. About 60 were voted
as residents of a certain alley, where but four
negroes lived, -among the republican leaders In
this colonization business was a postmaster, j,
deputy United States marshal, a sheriff and a
criminal judge.
3. Ata republican primary at which delegate
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