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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (June 19, 1903)
rmm !-- J - m BWW ipwm i wiwwppj m n .mi wmmt SB f "" WHJ" 'ft1 ,IH",!PH I i ,' .' Aa ., ',. " C1 tooth campaigns tho party made accessions from tho most democratic element of tho republican party. Tho democratic party must stand for justico to all, and since tho interests of the laboring man aro most threatened now, its guardianship of his interests must be open and steadfast. The labor ing man needs shorter hours in order that he may have more time with his family, moro time for Intellectual pursuits, and more time to gather the Information necessary for intelligent citizenship. The laboring man needs arbitration for the settle ment of difficulties which : present can only bo sottled by the clumsy and expensive method of fored by tho strike. Ho needs protection from government by injunctionf in order that he, like other citizens, may enjoy the safeguard of trial by jury. In other words, he needs to be protected in "tho enjoyment of life, liberty and the pursuit .of happiness," and the democratic party must be his champion wherever his interests are assailed. The interests of the farmer, the merchant, and the professional man ought to be as jealously guarded as tho Interests of the laborer. The par ty's position on the question of Imperialism, on the trust question, on the money question and on the tariff question ought in the ruture, as at pres ent, to guarantee to all that protection which comes from fearless application to all branches and departments of the Government of the Jeffer eonian maxim of "equal rights to all and special privileges to : one." It was said in tho beginning that all party suc cess depended In part upon the knowledge which the people had of public questions. Every campaign speech addressed to voters, every editorial dis cussing public questions, assumes not only that parties appeal to the judgment of the votei, but - that parties rely upon the enlightenment of tho voter upon tho questions at issue. The demo cratic party has been handicapped in recent cam paigns by the fact that so many of the papers purporting to be democratic papers looked to as the exponents of party principles have been con trolled by corporate influences hostile to the in terests of the masses. When tho crisis came in 18D6 and the lines were drawn between tho de mands of plutocracy and the rights of the peo ple, these papers deserted and threw their influ ence to tho republican party. As soon as the cam paign of 189G was over thow at once claimed a place at tho head of tho democratic army, and as serted that the party not only should, but would, assume again the same position of subserviency to organized wealth that it occupied under the second Cleveland administration. Not only were democrats, in one section of the country misled as to the sentiment of democrats elsewhere, but re publicans who were dissatisfied with their party's policy were given to understand that the demo cratic party contemplated no real reform. This misrepresentation of democratic principles and of the democratic position continued for four years, and then, in spite of tho misrepresentation, the democratic voters met In their several states and Indorsed the Chicago platform only two states and territories out of the whole number falling o make such 'indorsement During the campaign Df 1900 some of the papers that left us in 1896 .having been punished severely for their apostacy y S? l uacf "?". eave a nominal allegiance SJiJffnm SS but T 0f thoso that Save this nominal allegiance destroyed the value of their fcupport by their constant attc.ks upon the demo cratic position. As soon as the olecUon was over the papers that had remained outside of the par' ty as well as those which had ostensibly returned to it, again renounced, in chorus, nearly all that was fundamental in the party creed. They again KmeAiCha?e aud demanded repentence on the part of the democratic voters. That misrepresentation is still goini? on and as a result some well-meaning democrats have been led to believe that the party anno? succSS Jnn Jif a surrcnder oC its position, and republi can reformers have been repelled from rather liuF8?, t0 thG. Party' Truth is omnipotenT r! i T tr must be scattered broadcast if it 13 to bring forth a bountiful harvest Most of tho so-called democratic dallies have lameStaWv failed to scatter the seeds of democrS wly toth? ,them haJe 8pent more K aplSg for tho democrat c position or nriHniei. . . S who have been loyal to X Dartv thi SB t?Se In presenting deJocraUc truTh or TchalTengin' republican error. n r u cnaiiengmg republican error, if K. T ""c" "lAu.cnauei aidered democratic tHm had taEL years since 1896, spent as much time In exnound SS,Zd dofendin& th0 democratic pos tion i as "the" republican papers have spent in expounding and w uuulluve fnf, permanent vic The third influence to bo considered is tho The Commoner effect of industrial and local conditions. Tho Homestead riot greatly aided tho democratic party in 1892, while tho good crops between- lbao and 1900, and the unexpected increase in the pro duction of gold, largely helped tho republican par ty in tho campaign of 1900. That temporary con ditions often decide a national election is well recognized. Testimony recently produced showa that President LIcKinley when a candidate for re-election in 1900 sent a special representative to the head of the anthracite coal trust and urged the settlement of the coal strike because of tho fear that a continuation of the strike would jeo pardize his party's chances. That good times help the party in power and that panics Injure tho party in power is admitted by all. The panic of 1873 resulted in such an enormous change in sen timent that Tilden had a popular majority in 1876, notwithstanding the large majority secured by Grant in 1872. It is impossible for any one to forecast tho crop conditions or to prophesy with certainty in regard to the industrial or financial conditions 'that may develop before thaf time, and it is therefore impossible for any one to speak with certainty as to the democratic prospects of 1904. As the farmer sows his seed and cultivates his crop, taking his chances on the seasons to enlarge or diminish the yield of his land, so the demo cratic party must plant the seed which it thinks best and cultivate it with assiduous care by tho propagation of democratic doctrine, trusting to conditions to either hasten or retard the party's progress. Those who fear to sow or fail to cul tivate, cannot hope to harvest a bountiful crop in the domain of politics any moro than they can in the realm of agriculture. In answer to your inquiry, therefore, permit me to say that while no one has the power to foretell the result of the election in 1904, tho democratic party and by that I mean not a few leaders, but the voters of the democratic party should apply democratic principles to all ques tions, should present democratic arguments to all who will read or listen, and face the future with confidence, assured that whether transient con ditions and changing circumstances shall be fav orable or unfavorable, truth will finally triumph and every righteous principle be ultimately es tablished. (The above was written In reply to inquiry" from The Statesman, published at Austin, Tex.) Laziness. With the coming of spring there is apt to" be the languor sometimes called spring fever which attacks the boys who are old enough to work. It is so pleasant to rest under the shadow of the tree or stroll along the stream with hook and line that where some necessity does not assist it requires some effort to throw off the feeling and undertake work with energy. Laziness is the weed that grows where industry is not sedu ously cultivated to use tho comparison that some one has employed to describe the weed and the plant laziness seems to be the child of Nature while Industry is the step-child. A little reason ing would teach the boy verging upon manhood's estate that laziness is a physical condition to be shunned while industry is a physical habit to bo cultivated. All that it requires to convert a lazy boy into an industrious boy is the stimulus of the will and the habitual triumph of the will over the Inclinations of the body will permanent ly transform a sluggish and slothful creature into one alert, quick and active. And what will stim ulate the will? Give tho boy a true conception of life and let him understand that God has linked enduring enjoyment with uprightness and honest toil. Let him learn that the are not only most useful, but most happy who have something to occupy their hands, their heads and their hearts. The body needs exercise and without sufficient exercise it finds itself less capable to resist tho inroads of disease and the advances of age. Tho mind needs exercise. Unless it is em ployed the faculties are dulled and tho mental preceptions grow less acute. The heart, too, needs exercise; unless it is frequently employed in deeds of kindness and benovolenco it will shrivel up. While recreation and amusement have neces sary places in furnishing variety and elasticity, the boy should learn that amusements have to be the seasoning of his work, not tho entire food of his life. , Habits of industry formed in youth maka labor easy in after years. Laziness in yonth is apt to blight tho mature years. Very few can expect to go through llfo without labor. Many who expect to Inherit wealth lose it because they .VOLUME 3, NUMBER 22. lack" tho habits of thoae who acquired it The young man who is diligent has, other things be ing equal, the best chance of finding leisure to rest as he grows old, while those who waste tho morning hours of life are most apt, other things being equal, to find it necessary to work when their strength is declining and when the shadows are falling to the east Expansion vs. Imperialism. In discussing the Louisiana purchase recently ex-Secretary Charles Emory Smith attempted to use the act of Jefferson as a precedent for the Philippine policy of tho McKinloy administration, but the distinction between Jeffersonian expan sion and republican imperialism is so clear that it would be a reflection on a man's intelligence to say that he could not see it. The land purchased by Jefferson was contig uous, the islands, forcibly taken by the republi can administration, are in another hemisphere and are separated from us by the Pacific ocean. Tho Louisiana territory was sparsely settled; tho Phillpine Islands are more densely populated than our own country. (If -we take the Filipinos and their land wo will have less land per capita than we have now.) The scattered Inhabitants of the Louisiana territory came in as citizens"; the Filipinos come In as subjects. The Louisiana territory was settled up by people who located on the land for the purpose of living upon it and cultivating it; the Americans who go to tho Philippines go there to work the natives and to carry away all the wealth that is movable. Tho settlers In the Louisiana territory formed self-governing communities; the people who go to the Philippines go almost wholly as carpet-bag officials or as exploiters of the helpless. The Louisiana territory was carved into states; the Philippine islands are to form a col ony. The people who live in the states made out of the Louisiana purchase share in the guarantees of our constitution and in the destinies of our nation; the Filipinos have no protection -from our Constitution, and no voice in our government, or even in their own. The people who live on the land purchased by Jefferson participate in tho levying of the taxes which they pay; the Filipinos aro taxed without representation and shot down if they object to the exercise of arbitrary power by an alien gov ernment , These jare some of the distinctions. To us the purchase of the Louisiana terri tory as an excuse for a colonial policy in the Orient is as absurd as it would be to use the kindness of the Good Samaritan as a justification of the criminal conduct of Cain. Organized Wealth. The Wall Street Journal, which may fairly be considered one of the ablest representatives of tne money worshipping pc .ion of the nation's population, rushes to the rescue of "organized wealth." It begins by attempting to misunder stand the phrase, and then endeavors to throw upon legitimate business the odium that ought to be reserved for predatory wealth. It would be a reflection -pon the intelligence of the editor of the paper to suppose that he does not under stand the difference between the legitimate bus iness enterprises with which no one finds fault and the arrogant and insolon- attempt of tho financiers and trust magnates to control the gov ernment in their own priyat ) interests, corrupting voters, coercing businesn men, and even threat ening panics whenever sue . threats are thought to be useful. There is a clear line of demarkation between those, on tne one hand, wL as individuals, part ners or stockholders in a corporation, are attempt ing to add to the nation's wealth by the develop ment of industry and commerce, giving to so ciety a full return for tn money they receive, and those, on the other hand, who attempt to destroy competition and extort from their vic tims such bounties as greed and avarice may dic tate. It is one of tno tricks of thn fox, when hotly pursued, to rush through a flock of1 sneep or a herd of cattle in order th t those who pursue may lose the scent, and so tho monopolies that prey upon the public are always sure to run to cover behind legitimate and honorable organi zations in order to avoi". those who endeavor to punish them. It Is a confession of cowardice, and an admission .that tho Institutions thus defended cannot bo defended upon their merits. A recent issue of the Journal illustrates the
