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The Commoner.
WILLIAfl J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
Vol. 3. No, 36.
Lincoln, Nebraska, July 17, 1903.
Whole No. 130.
Towne Still in Politics
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The speech delivered by Hon. Charles A.
Towne at Tammany's Fourth of July celebration
Is conclusive proof that he Is still in politics. He
took imperialism for his theme and in the course
of his remarks thus presented his views on our
colonial policy:
"At the same instant of time Spanish tyranny
was intolerable in two hemispheres. Against it
Cubans were in armed revolt at our very doors.
Against it Filipinos were in armed revolt half
wnv round rh world. Each soucht national inde
pendence, and we knew it Fellow citizens, when
the inquisition of after ages snail arraign us at
the bar of history, who shall answer the questions:
'Why was a war for the ireeaom or one peapie
n.hfimrnfl Intn a war for the subJuEatlon of another
people. You accepted the services of the Flli-
ninna In mnniinrint? t.hfi Snanish: VOU Cave them
arms and ammunition; you put them in your
trenches; you let them fight for you, bleed for you,
die for you; you know they thought your object
to be the independence of the Philippine islands;
why, when the fleet of your common enemy was
sunk deep in Manila bay, did you turn your guns
on your allies and substitute your own for Spanish
rule when they were equally opposed to both?
"Why did you denounce as traitors millions of
people not born under your jurisdiction and who
had never vowed you allegiance? How can the
descendants of the American revolution purchase
the bodies, the country and the allegiance of ten
millions of unwilil'g" people for twenty million
of-dollars2 If-you had already got them by right
of conquest, why did you pay twenty millions of,
dollars for them? Why did you not treat the
Filipinos as you treated the Cubans?
"Ah! Americans, these questions cannot be
answered consistently without national character
and honor. We must not, indeed, leave them to
be asked by future generations. We must set our
selves right while yet there is time. We who have
done the wrong must repair it. We must not sub
stitute for the old American ideas the tawdry and
barbaric standards of the outworn civilizations.
We must not barter the moral leadership of man
kind and the sponsorship of human freedom for an
ignoble precedence in the ranks of corrupt and
despotic nations."
JJJ
Sunday Reading.
In a recent issue of The Commoner reference
vnn madft to two books, suitable for Sunday read
ing, which had come to the attention of the editor
of this paper, and been enjoyed by him. Atten
tion is now Invited to two more. The first Is en
titled, "What All the World's A-Seeklng," or
"The Vital Law of True Life, True Greatness,
Power and Happiness," by Ralph Waldo Tryne,
author of "In Tune With the Infinite." The boqk
is published by Thos. Y. Crowell '& Co., of Now
York. The author opens the volume with several
questions:
"How can I make life viold its fillest and
best? How can I know the true S'jret of power?
How can I attain to a true and lasting greatness?
How can I fill the whole of life with a happiness
and peace and joy and satisfaction, that 1p ever
rich and abiding, that ever increases, never di
minishes, that imparts to it a sparkle, that never
loses its luster, that ever fascinates, that never
wearies?"
A complete and satisfactory answer to these
questions should certainl" be of Interest to all,
. fnp xuhn fcno nnt nalrfwl thorn? Thft author then
y proceeds to elaborate his answe- He presents the
j jjiuid uicaauto ut gicatui.al nmuj ( n . .
that is greatest among you shall be your ser
vant." He also contends that this Is the meas
ure of happiness as well as greatness. The entire
book is an argument in defense .of the proposition
that "Love is the greatest thing fn the world"
that love is tho controlling force in the world, and
that it enriches tho giver while It helps tho one on
whom It is bestowed. It Is a plea for that un
selfishness which might after all bo called tho
broadest selfishness, because It Is really productive
of greater and more permanent good than tho
short-sighted selfishness that sacrifices others for
one's own benefit
The second book to which attention Is called
at this time is entitled "Jesus, tho Jew, and
Other Addresses," by Harris Weinstock, and pub
lished by Funk : Wagnalls, New York. This book
presents a Jewish view of Christ. It claims Christ
for the Jewish race and shows how tho Jewish
race has Influenced tho entire world through the
system of religion founded by the Nazarene. As
a discussion of the Jew's debt to Christianity and
Christianity's debt, it is both instructive and In
teresting. It also contains a masterly discussion
of Moses, his work and the system of ethics de
veloped under his leadership. Tho spirit mani
fested by tho writer Is so broad and kindly and
the argument so forcible that tho book must ex
ert a powerful Influence In Increasing tho harmony
between tho Jew and the Gentile.
JJJ
A Mighty Privilege
A Manila cablegram through the Associated
press, referring to the bill for the government
of the Moros "enacted" by the Philippine com
mission, says that "the measure authorizes the
council to abolish slavery."
That Is a very important provision, indeed.
The thirteenth amendment to the federal consti
tution says that "neither slavery nor involun
tary servitude except as punishment for crime,
whereof the party shall havo been duly convicted,
shall exist within the United States;" and then
as If anticipating that some new-fangled inter
pretation might be placed upon Ue meaning of
the term "within the Unr?d States," the thir
teenth amendment concludes "or any place sub
ject to their jurisdiction."
And yet when on territory over which this
government has established jurisdiction, the in
stitution of slavery flourishes, the republican, ad
ministration engages in a treaty in which a
magnificent tribute is paid to liberty to the ex
tent that it is provided that "any slave may pur
chase his freedom by paying to the master the
usual market price." And now, as another
magnificent tribute to liberty, the Philippine com
mission, in the bill recently enacted, "authorizes
the council to abolish slavery."
What a mignty privilege it Is for an official
body representing a republic and having author
ity over territory presumed to be part of a re
public to receive from the Philippine commission
the "authority to abolish slavery."
JJJ
An Anti-Cleveland Protest.
The papers have been telling what a strong
Cleveland sentiment there was in Pennsylvania.
The democratic county committee of Lancaster
county, Pennsylvania, met early this month ani
unanimously passed the following resolution:
"Resolved, That wo condemn the attempt
of the so-called reorganizes, who, with the
aid of republican newspapers, are trying to
boom the nomination of a candidate who is
repugnant to a vast majority of the demo
. cratic party; and it is our opinion that no
members of the party who believes in the
principles laid down by Jefferson and Jackson
and Is loyal to the best traditions of the
party can favor such a movement"
This does not look much like a Cleveland
landslide! When- the voters speak it will be
found that the reorganizes are far less numer
ous than the trust-ridden metropolitan paper
would make it appear.
Tom Johnson's Speech
The program carried out at tho Fourth of July
colobratlon conducted by tho Falrvlcw Jefferson
club at Falrvlew In familiar tp Commoner readers.
Tho addresses of the day wero delivered by Tom
L. Johnson of Cleveland, Howard S. Taylor of
Chicago and Louis P. Post, odltor of The Public,
Chicago. These addresses will bo published In
full in Tho Commoner, .beginning this week with
tho address dellvorcd by Mayor Johnson.
Mayor Johnson was Introduced by Mr. Bryan
as "One Ohio official who could neither bo moved
by threats nor bought with money," and spoko as
follows:
Mr. Bryan, my fellow citizens, ladles and
gentlemen: I am far from homo, and in a
strange country in a way. From our home plac-j
by tho great expanse of waters, I was suddenly
transferred into your green fields; and I realized
when I saw the natlvo turf hero and the rolling
ground, what a great place it must have been for
tho Indians of old times, and how naturally they
must havo resented our driving them out of such a
fair land as this. But all feelings of strangeness
havo passed away. When I came Into this tent
this afternoon, I felt at once so much at homo
that now I can almost imagine myself in an
Ohio campaign, vith Mr. Bryan helping us, as he
always has, to win our battles.
This Is Independence Day! We have list
ened to that great document, the Declaration of
Independence. Its principles of equal rights .for,
all and -special privileges for none, are of uni
versal application; frojm the smallest- local gg&
ornment to tho widest scope of national ' govern "v
mont It has often been discussed wisely and
well, but there is just one thought that I want to
call your attention to. One of the many gems In
that old paper is the declaration that govern
ments are instituted among men to secure cer
tain rights for all. Let me as!: you to omphaslze
the word "secure." You will notice it is not a
declaration that grants rights not a declaration
that gives rights from above; It Is a declaration
that secures rights. It recognizes the truth that
every man, woman and child has these rights
from the fact that they were born on this earth.
They are rights which spring from within and
go out; they do not come down to us from any
social contact, nor from any king or potentate.
My friends, that to me Is the thought that Is
greatest in that paper, the thought that it is the
duty of government to secure to men tho rights
that they possess by nature. Governments aro
instituted among men for that purpose.
Now, the inquiry is this: Has our govern-
ment been administered in the Interest of securing
these rights to men, or is there some ingenious
way, some underhand trick, some device that la
not always seen, something that Is hidden below
the surface, by which tho sacred rights that the
government should secure to al have been de
ferred and kept away from the many, and, In
stead, certain privileges and advantages have been
vested In the fev? I make the charge that most
of our laws do tljls.
There are laws that we make to govern our
cities and statea and nation, laws for making
certain great improvements, laws for punishing
crimes, which carry out the spirit of tho Declar
ation of Independence; but most of the time of
your legislative bodies, whether the national as
sembly," state legislatures, or your city coun
cils, most of their time is spent, with the aid of
the ingenuity of the shrewdest, most corrupt and
best paid set of men on earth, in devising plana
for creating law-made privileges at the 'xpense
of all of the people for the benefit of the privileged
monopolists of this country. (Applause.)
I cannot Imagine that It is in the interest of
all the people, and that we are securing their
, rights, when wo build great navies and organize
great armies. So-called statesmen tell us thesa
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