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The Commoner.
WILLIAH J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
Vol. 3. " No. 32.
Lincoln, Nebraska, August 28, 1963,
Whole No. 136.
What About Taylor?
. In his letter to the governor of Indiana, Presi
dent Roosevelt very properly entered a strong
protest against lynching. There are, however, in
that letter some statements that, might he inter
preted into a rebuke for the course pursued by the
Indiana governor with respect to Mr. Taylor, for-
mer governor of Kentucky.
Mr. Roosevelt probably did not intend that
anything in that letter should bo construed int
connection with the Taylor case and Governor
Durbin probably did not read the letter in the
light of his attitude toward the notorious fugi
tive. At the same time, however, some of the
things Mr. Roosevelt said should be carefully con
sidered by tho Indiana governor and should
prompt him to surrender the fugitive Taylor to tho
Kentucky authorities.
Mr. Roosevelt said: "The slightest lack of
vigor in denouncing the crime or bringing tho
criminal to justice is in itself unpardonable. More
over, every effort should be made under the law
to expedite the proceedings of justice in the case
of such an awful crime." To be sure, Mr. Roose
velt here refers explicitly to criminal assault, but
he would not undertake to say that the rule ho
has laid down does not with equal propriety ap
ply to every crime.
Mr. JRoosevelt said: "It certainly ought to
"be possible by the proper administration of tho
. laws to secure swift vengeance uppn tho criminal,
and the best and immediate efforts of all legisla
tors, judges and citizens should bo addressed to
securing such reforms in our legal procedure as
to leave no vestige of excuse for those misguided
men who undertake to rea; vengeance through
violent methods." And again Mr. Roosevelt said
that "the law must work swiftly and surely and
all the agents of the law should realize the wrong
they do when they permit justice to be delayed or
thwarted for technical or Insufficient reasons."
Again Mr. Roosevelt said: "We must show that
the law is adequate to deal with crime by treeing
it from every vestige of technicality and delay."
The present governor of Indiana, as vell as
his republican predecessor, permitted Mr. Taylor,
the former governor of Kentucky, to find refuge
in the Hoosier state. Mr. Taylor is charged with
being accessory to the murder of Governor Goebel
and so far all efforts to persuade the Indiana exe
cutive to surrender Taylor to the Kentucky au
thorities have failed.
Neither Mr. Roosevelt or Governor Durbin
would undertake to say that the rules herein
quoted and as laid down by the president do not
apply to all crimes; and yet while Mr. Roosevelt
presents these rules in a ve:y dramatic way and
Governor Durbin accepts them as being an in
dorsement of his course with respect to the Evans
vllle riots, it is not at all probable that Mr. Roose
velt will ever address to the governor of Indiana
a letter by way of rebuke for tho course pursued
in providing protection to Mr. .Taylor, the fugitive
from Kentucky justice. And it is not at all prob
able that Governor Durbin, while pretending to
adhere to these rules, will withdraw his protection
from Mr. Taylor and permit the sheriff to return
him to Kentucky in order that he may be re
quired to answer to the serious charge preferred
against him.
JJJ
The Money Question. -
The Chicago Tribune reports Senator Daniel
of Virginia as saying that "the financial question
wili be the most important subject before the next
congress." Tho Tribune adds that the senator be
lieves that tho question "will precipitate a long
aeDate, -which will cover the wnoie money ques
tion with its old Issues and bearings on politics,"
lief that in tho banking and financial issues to bo
precipitated this winter in congress, the democrats
will have a live, powerful issue."
Senator Daniel is correct; tho financial Issuo
will bo a live one in congress and the democrats
have it in their power to put tho republicans on
the defensive if they will only take up tho ques
tion and mako an earnest fight But tho party Is
handicapped by the presence of a lot of corporation
democrats who have secured onlco on a harmony
platform and these men will, If possible, prevent
tho party's taking a firm stand against the Aldrlch
bill and an asset currency.
The democrats who are with tho people ought
to assert themselves In both the house and tha sen
ate and leave exposed to tho wrath of tho people
those who would surrender tho treasury Into tho
hands of the financiers.
JJJ
Barriers to Competition.
In a speech delivered at Creston, la., August
10, Congressman Hepburn said: "What aro pro
tective duties other than barriers to free competi
tion? When wo agree to a tariff schedule Impos
ing duties upon our foreign competitor, we say to
him, we do not rely upon your competition to
secure diminishing cost for our :iecessariqs of Hfo,
but we propose to give our own people oiir entire
market and then rely upon their competition, one
with another, to secure the just and fair price."
It is not difficult for tho intelligent man to
understand that tho republican party has built up
at our ports these "barriers to free competition."
But it does not provide among our own peoplo
"competition, one with another, to secure a just
and fair price."
Tho republican party builds up "barriers to
fiee competition" at our ports and then fosters
the trust system whereby free competition is de
stroyed at home; tho wholo tendency of the re
publican policies being to benefit tho few at the
expense of tho many.
JJJ
No More Confidence Games
It is apparent that the reorganizes are at
tempting to play another confidence game, first
on the democratic party and then on the public.
They want a platform that is ambiguous and can
didates who are not openly pledged to anything,
but who are secretly pledged to the representa
tives of organized wealth. Then they propose
to collect a large campaign fund from the cor
porations and use it to buy the floating vote. The
word "democrat" Is to bo used to cover anything
that tho schemers want and the campaign Is to
bo run on plans approved by modern republican
ism. This is what was done ia 1892 and the bunco
game was fully developed during Mr. Cleveland's
administration. Every effort made today in tho
direction of reform Is handicapped by the disgrace-,
ful record of those four years and any prominence
given to the unrepentant members of that admin
istration gives the He to all promise of improve
ment Will the party travel again througn that
valley of the shadow of death'' Will the honest
and earnest advocates of remedial legislation per
mit the party to be used frr th3 betrayal of the
hopes of the people? Never! As soon as tho
rank and file understand the nature of tho strug
gle they will arise in their might and overthrow
the political highwaymen who wear the mask of
democracy, but wno are bent upon the spoliation
of the masses. No more confidence games during
tu. generation, and if the loyal democrats do their
duty there will be such a modification in the
methods of government that rings will find it
impossible to impose on the people longer. Tho
?Cflirmatln OI me ivausas uuy iJiau.urm aim iub
niinntinn of Kansas City platform principles to
Ell new questions will keep tie party true to its
high purpose.
Philo Sherman Bennett
Mr. Bryan has Geon called upon to mourn the
death of "another close personal and political friend
Mr. Philo Sherman Bennntt of Now Hnyjpn,
Conn. Ho was senior member of tho New York
wholesalo firm of Bennett, Joal & Co., and was
one of tho fow prominent burincsa men of the
east who refused to bo intimidated by tho finan
ciers in 1890. Ho began at tho bottom of the
lnddcr and ' worked his way ui to a command
ing position in the commercial world, and yet
ho never lost his sympathy with tho struggling
masses.
The address dollvcred at tho funeral by Rev.
Artemus J. Haynes, pastor of the United church,
so accurately described tho controlling purpose of
Mr. Bennett's llfo hat It Is given in full:
"Tho most appropriate words on such a occa
sion as this are tho words of the Holy Scripture,
leading our thoughts and feelings out Into soma
simple utterance of prayer. It were bettor under
ordinary circumstances to v'tnhold our testimony
of praise until some hour when tho mind could
dwell moro calmly upon the character and achieve
ments of him who has gone. But the circum
stances of this occasion aro not ordinary; tho man
whom wo honor today was no ordinary man. Ho
was unique by virtue of the opinions which ho
hold, tho Ideals which he followed, and the type
of manhood which he exemplified. Such a life
calls for some direct and simple word of apprecia
tion. To go out from this sorvico without voicing
the sentiments that have moved you to come to
this house today were to tempt the very stones
in the street to render tribute to him whom you
have known and loved.
"Even had I been well acquainted with Mr.
Bennett, It would hardly be fitting that I should
enter into the intimacies of his life and character.
He whose personality was mad" beautiful by tho
rarest modesty, would shrink, I am suro, from hav
ing his private virtues shown forth for the ad
miration of the crowd, 'ino sacrcdnoss of per
sonality Is not destroyed by the death of the body.
In every man's hfe Is a holy o! holies; aid God
alone has the right to enter that Inner sanctuary.
Of that religious life which Is the expression of a
man's sense of relationship to his brother tho
world has a right to take note, but of that life
which is hidden with Christ in God the world can
know nothing, and into the secret workings of that
life no man should attempt to Intrude. Jesus
spoke to his disciples of their obligations to the
brotherhood that was one side of the religious
life, but when he would worship, ho went apart
Into the mountain that he might be alone. Of
that side of Mr. Bennett's life which, as I be
lieve, was profoundly religious, that side which
had to do with bis relation to God, I shall say
nothing. The life of faith and aspiration and
prayer only God knows that life, knows Its
sweetness and beauty. Concerning the other side
of his personality, that side which wa3 open to
all the world, his relation to the men and women
about him, the great brotherhood concerning that
side of his life I would venture to say a few
words.
"And that which I would say has defined it
self very clearly to my thought It is not of a
general character the ordinary commonplaces
which may be attached to ev.ry good man who
dies but something definite and distinct May I
come to my thought by way of a much slighted
word of scripture? I cannot help feeling lhat if
Mr. Bennett had chosen a text it would have been
this: 'He that loveth not his brother whom he
hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath,
not seen?',
"Brothierhood! that was the great word in the
language to him. He believed in the democracy
of religion and in the religion of democracy. Laws,
customs., Institutions nothing was sacred to him
ana he is also "strongly Impressed witn tne ue-
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