r
The Commoner.
WILLIAH J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
, M
Vol. 3. No. 30.
Lincoln, Nebraska, August 14, 1903.
Whole No. 134.
r
Forward MarchGuide Right!
In the campaigns of 1896 and 1900 the demo
cratic party made an honest fight for honest prin
ciples and polled more votes than the party oyer
polled before.
What if it has suffered defeat? Coercion and
corruption, coupled with the desertion of gold
democrats, were responsible for the deteat of 1890,
while the defeat of 1900 was due to war enthus
iasm and improved industrial conditions. The
party has suffered defeat before, but it has not
taltered in its purpose or abanuoned its principles.
Did it not suffer deleat in 164 and again in 1808?
Did it not suffer defeat in 1872 and also in 1880?
Did it not make us tariff reform plank more em
phatic rather tha. less so in 1892 after being de
feated on that issue in 1888?
it stands for positive, aggressive democracy
and its principles ae formulated in its last national-
creed the Kansas City platform are
sound and clearly denned. That plattonn de
clared imperialism to be the paramount Issue, and
the republican party has done nothing to settle
that issue or remove it from the arena of politics.
That platform declared private monopolies to bo
indefensible and intolerable, and the republican
party has done nothing to settle that issue or to
lessen its importance; -Neither has anything been
aone to settle the money question. No one would
,dare commit the democratic party to tne gold
standard, and. if bimetallism is desirable there Is
no better statement of It tnan that found in the
platform. Besides the plank on free silvei, the
platform covers other phases of the money ques
tion and commits the party to a linancial system
made by the people for tnemseives. The fignt
ccming on in congress over the currency legisla
tion proposed by the banks in their own inter
ests cannot help giving prominence to this ques
tion, and the party could not avoid the issae if it
would.
On the questions affecting labor, too, the
platform is explicit and the party's position well
Btated. Neither does the tariff plank of the Kan
sas City platform need revision In fact there is
nothing in that platform that r. .ulres apology or
explanation. As no issue in that platform has
l)een settled and as no new and overshadowing
issue has arisen rince 1900, nothing remains but
to continue the fight along lines already laid
down until the people realize the dangerous ten
dency of republican policies and turn to our party
for relief.
In spite of the obvious necessity of maintain
ing the party's integrity the reorganizers are ac
tively engaged in an effort to emasculate the plat
form. They want to keep up a sham battle on
the tariff while they secretly advance the inter
ests of the financiers and protect the trusts from
any effective legislation. The duty of those dem
ocrats who believe in the Kansas City platform
is clear. They must march forward and meet the
enemy as they have in the campaigns of the past
They must fight for the reaffirmation of the Kan
sas City platform and for the application of the
same principles to new questions' as they arise,
'xnere must be no surrender and there can be no
compromise of principle that is not equivalent to
a surrender. If the reorganizers refer to the de
feats of 1896 and 1900, reiuind them of the de
feat of 1894 and tell them that the prHy would
have been annihilated had the Cleveland leader
ship continued. If they doubt our ability to win
a victory in 1904 on an honest platform liks that
adopted in 1900, tell them that it offers better
promise of success than any dishonest platform,
and that if defeat does come it will not only be
less sweeping than a defeat on different lines,
hut that there would be no dishonor with it
Honor and expediency .unite in demanding fidelity
to the last national platform and to the interests
of the people on all questions.
Forward, march! And let no one call a halt
until a comploto victory is won.
JJJ
Another Wall Street Demand.
Wall street has been demanding an elastic
currency for some time, but now comes the de
mand from the Wall Street Journal for an olastic
anti-trust law. It says that the decision of tho
court in tho merger case "calls loudly for rem
edial legislation." It says: "The law must bo
made, if possible, more elastic so as to permit of
such combinations as aro beneficial even though
technically in restraint of trade." Elasticity seems
to be popular In Wall streot elasticity of con
science, elasticity of law, elasticity of currency,
and elasticity even of the Declaration of Inde
pendence. It would seem that we need less elas
ticity instead of more.
JJJ
Why Not Senator Cockrell?
Why not Francis Marion Co. rell of Missouri
for president? His Christian character, his long
experience, his great ability, and Lis unquestioned
integrity make him worthy to be considered
among those eligible to a democratic nomination.
As one who has been in harmony with his party
on every question ho would be acceptable to tho
Kansas City platform democrats, and yet what
reorganizer could find a personal objection to
him?-His4ong.service would disarm criticism and
his popularity would spread as he became better
known.
Ho is 69 years of age, but young enough for
service yet His service in the confederate army
would not weaken him, first, becauso tho war is
over, and, second, because his record has been
such as-to commend him to those who wore the
blue as well as to those who wore the gray.
Tho.Commoner has already mentioned several
available men and has others in reserve, but it
takes pleasure in proposing Senator Cockrell.
JJJ
The Gorman Interview.
The Cincinnati Enquirer, a champion of Sena
tor Gorman, says of its candidate that ho evaded
the question as to his wii mgness to accept a
presidential nomination, but declared that there
are three issues before the country "tariff re
form, economy in public affairsVnd honesty in
office."
As the republicans will insist that they, too,
favor economy and honesty, that would leave tar
iff reform as the only issue, A. as Senator Gor
man was chief among the group of senators that
emasculated the Wilson bill and brought ridicule
upon the party in 1894, his candidacy would elimi
nate the tariff issue. But there is another issue
that should not be overlooker, by the reorganizers,
namely, that the democrats should hold the offices.
This Issue presents something definite and tangi
ble. A platform demanding the offices and omit
ing all references to other questions ought to do
sufficiently general to please the men who have
been in the habit of bolting, and, according to
their logic, it is not necessary to consider at all
the men who have been loyal to tho party.
The Gorman interview is an excellent illus
tration of the aimless wandering of the corpora
tion element of the party. No policy on the ques
tion of imperialism; no policy on the trust ques
tion; no policy on the money question; no fight
against an asset currency or other schemes of the
financiers, and no contest worthy of mention 'on
the tariff question. It is impossible to believe that
any large number of democrats can Indorse so
lifeless and inanimate a policy. The Kansas City
platform democrats are the only democrats who
are making an aggressive fight for democratic
principles and policies.
Misinterpreting Providence,
' A reader of Tho Commonor has sent In a
pamphlet printed by tho Missionary Society of
one of tho protestant churches which sets forth a
doctrino that is as un-Chrlstian as It Is un-American.
Tho pamphlet describes tho conversion of a
Filipino somo sixteen years ago and tho evangel
istic work of his son, and concludes as follows:
Is this not ono evidenco that God was pre
paring a man to preach tho truth as soon as
political and religious liberty was glvon to
tho Philippine islands, and a now evidence that
God is using tho wars of our times for the
evangelization of the nations?
Tho person who forwarded the pamphlet takes
exception to Tho Commoner's position on Im
perialism and declares his belief in the doctrino
that God usos tho thlrtcen-inch gun to spread his
Gospel, and no one can read tho pamphlet with
out feeling that tho writer of It is a believer In
tho doctrino that wars can bo justified aa a means
of extending tho Christian religion. Not only
that, butjthe pamphlet shows that the main work
of this protestant preacher Is to convert Filipinos
from Catholicism to Protestantism. Americans
being bellovors In religious liberty recognize and
defend the right of a Catholic to convert a protest
ant to his faith and the right of a protestant to
convert a Catholic to his faith, but to Justify a
war on the ground that it is a divinely appointed
means which enables one part of the Christian
church, or to onablo any part of tho Christian
church, to proselyte among rnbollevers, is totally
at varlanco with our, theory of government and
our ideas of roligion.j Somo have vaguely hinte-l
that our Phillpplnopollcy can be defended as a
missionary policy, but so far as tho editor of The
Commoner knows this is tho first written argu
ment prepared for circulation which attempts
to justify imperialism on tho ground that it is a
divinely apointed system.
It certainly does injustice to tho members of
tho great protestant denomination responsible for
the pamphlet for the members of Its church havo
given as conclusive proof, as the members of any
other church, that they believe In the power of
the Christian religion to propagate itself by ap
peals to tho heart The very fact that one of
the Filipino missionaries described in the pamph
let was converted sixteen years ago is evidenco
that oven under Spanish rule it was possible for
the protestant religion to make a convert Tho
fact that the convert was Lanished not only did
not injure his cause, but really gave it promi
nence. "The blood of tho martyrs is the seed of
tho church," is an old saying and Its truth has
been shown many and many a time. Persecution
never destroys an idea. The very fact that a
man is willing, if necessary, to die for an Idea
is tho most potent argument that can bo made
in defense of that idea.
The pamphlet assumes that American rule In
tho Philippine Islands Is necessary to rellgiou
liberty. For it says: "During the year of 1898
in the provision of God for the religious liberty of
tho Philippine people three events occurred, (1)
Paulino Zamora returned to Manila; (2) Nicholas
Zamora, his son, graduated with honors for the
priesthood from a Roman Catholic college, and,
(3) the American flag floated over Manila."
It is a gratuitous assumption to say that
American rule in the Philippines Is necessary to
religious liberty. If any reader of The Commoner
doubts that religious liberty is possible under a
Philippine republic, let him visit Mexico, a Cath
olic country, and he will find that the Mexicans,
without the aid of any outside Influence, havo se
cured and aro enjoying absolute religious free
dom. Protestant churches can be found in Hex
P f